How To Fix Your Sliding Glass Door Blinds

Sliding doors are excellent options when you are choosing doors that are practical and are efficient. They let in tons of natural light into the room and that to without using up precious space in the house. But when the question of how to fix sliding glass door blinds arises, many homeowners draw a blank. This is because most blinds can make it difficult to use the doors to move about and may also limit the amount of natural light that enters the room.

Popular Sliding Glass Door Blinds

Before talking about how to fix sliding glass door blinds, let us talk about the most popular sliding glass door blinds that are available in the market.

• Vertical sliding glass door blinds
Vertical sliding glass door blinds look classy and are easy to use. They are easy to install too.

• Sliding panel or panel track blinds
The sliding blinds are sleek and stylish these are easy to operate and come in a variety of options in fabric and other materials used. They have flat and vertical blinds that can move horizontally to shut or open up your sliding glass doors.

• Cellular shades
Vertical cellular shades are a great choice if you also need your blinds to perform temperature control. They have a honeycomb pattern created within the fabric that traps air in the pocket. This helps to insulate the sliding glass doors and keep the space cool in the summer season and warm in the winter season.

• Drapes and curtains
Curtains and drapes are not technically blinds but can be an excellent classy alternative to the blinds. The huge variety of colors, fabric and patterns make it an attractive choice.

Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing Blinds for Your Sliding Glass Doors

If you have set your mind on a specific kind of blinds for your sliding doors, you may also need to consider the following points before you make your final decision.

• Consider if you are going for an outside mount or an inside mount. Most doors do not have the necessary depth for an inside mount. It might be a better choice to go for an outside mount.
• Consider if the handle or the opening and closing mechanism of your sliding door will interfere with the blinds of your choice. If the blinds and the handle or the mechanism of your door come in contact constantly, they may get damaged.
• Consider if your sliding doors need complete coverage. If so, you may need to add some extra width to the blinds so that it overlaps the walls surrounding the sliding doors.
• Consider if the pattern of the blinds interferes with the patterns and the arrangement of the room. If so, you may need to choose the blinds more carefully.

How to Fix Your Sliding Door Blinds

Fixing sliding door blinds can be a pretty straight forward task. With a little effort, you can fix your own sliding door blinds. Before you go ahead and start with the installation of the sliding door blinds, you will need to fix the mounts. The outside mounts are the most preferred kind as they lead to minimal to no damage to the blinds or the doors during long term use.

• Accurate measurements
You must make sure that you have accurate measurements of both the blinds and the mounts. The length of the tracks and the length of the blinds need to be perfectly accurate too for the best results.

• Unpacking of the blinds
The blinds of the sliding doors must reach you in a properly packaged condition. The package must contain all the components. Since there are many small components, it can be easy to lose them. Make sure that you unpack carefully and assure yourself that all the parts are present. A missing part can seriously hinder the process of the installation of sliding door blinds.

• The fall of the blinds
You must determine where the blinds will fall. Doing this early in the process will help in the easy installation of the sliding door blinds.

• Hold up the blinds
Now, hold the blinds up next to the sliding doors. The blinds have to be correctly measured before this step is performed.

• Making marks
At this point, you can make marks at the ends. To both the ends, add a few more inches to the marked point for the tracks.

• Guideline for the tracks
Next, it is important to create a guideline to tell you the perfect and specific point to install the brackets for the tracks. You must remember to leave enough space to allow free movement of the sliding doors while opening and closing. If you choose a tracking system that consists of two brackets, you will need to install the brackets at least four inches from either side of the track.

• Next, you will need to make holes in the wall to install screws and anchors. You may use manual drilling methods but an electrical drill is much more practical and easy to work with. Each bracket will need to be secured with two screws. This will make sure that the tracker of the blinds is securely attached. Most sliding glass door blinds come with clips that are small carriers. This is where the blinds are attached. These clips must be in alignment and need to face in one direction while you install the sliding glass door blinds.

• Before you start attaching the blinds to the carriers, be sure to test them. This can be easily done by turning the wand. In some commercially available blinds, a chain is what controls the direction of the blinds. If the blinds that you chose for your sliding door uses a chain, you may test the carriers by simply pulling on them.

• Once you have double-checked that the carriers of your blinds are in alignment and that the controls are in perfect working condition, you may now start attaching the blinds to the carrier clips. You can do this by simply slipping the blinds into the carrier. If you have done a perfect job of sliding the blind into the carrier, a clear and audible click will be heard. The point to keep in mind is to make sure that all the blinds face the correct direction. If this is not made sure, you may have to redo the entire set of blind attachment.

If you find it the process of how to fix sliding glass door blinds mindboggling, you can always reach out for professional help. It doesn’t matter if you fixed the blinds yourself or you got help, in the end you will be able to enjoy a classic and stylish space thanks to your new sliding door blinds.